As we approach the mid of the final quarter of this year, the dramatic changes it has brought are hard to miss. In only a matter of months, a significant number of aspects of our lives have been disrupted and/or changed permanently.
Even the way we conduct business has transformed dramatically. As teams all over the world collaborate remotely and more businesses than ever before start operating on the web, it is critical for professionals to update their skills in order to adapt to the new ‘normal’.
One of the most evident changes in the life of a corporate professional is the rise of virtual meetings. As a result, the ability to deliver impactful presentations in a virtual environment has become critical to success.
You can have the most cutting edge video conferencing software but without the ability to hold the interest of your audience, you will not be able to deliver an effective presentation.
So how can you deliver effective virtual presentations?
Here are a few tips:
Know Your Audience
This is a tip that is relevant for all sorts of presentation situations. When you know your audience, you understand their pain points, their triggers, and the kind of solutions they are looking for.
In other words, if you know your audience, you can tell them what they want to hear. When you do that, you will be able to deliver an engaging presentation that will keep your audience enticed and hopefully, will help you reach your objective.
Keep It Short
World’s best speeches are also some of the shortest speeches ever. John F. Kennedy’s famous inauguration speech was under 15 minutes.
This is because most people have a limited attention span and any speech or presentation that goes beyond the threshold of their attention span can easily and quickly start feeling boring.
That’s why, it is important to keep your presentation short, sweet, and to the point. When you create the first draft of your presentation, make sure you take it through at least one round of editing that is solely dedicated to removing clutter and presenting information in a crisp manner.
Don’t Use JUST Bullet Points
As far as articles are concerned, bullet points are a great way to get your message across in a structured and easy to understand manner. However, the case with presentations is not the same.
Effective presenters never limit their slides with only text content. They go the extra mile to combine written content with relevant visuals.
Photos and videos aren’t just entertaining, they are scientifically proven to improve comprehension and retention of information in humans. Our brain is wired to process visual information faster and more efficiently.
Pay Attention To Your Surroundings
Chances are, you will be delivering a number of presentations from the comfort of your home. As comfortable as it may be, appearing professional during presentations is still as important as it was before the pandemic happened.
That’s why, it is important to not just pay attention to your own attire, but to your surroundings that will be present in the frame of your webcam.
Ideally, you should sit in front of a neutral background. Make sure you remove all personal items from the area that will appear in the frame.
It is also important to pay special attention to lighting. It is important for your audience to be able to see you properly. Ideally, you should choose a place where there is lots of natural light.
If that is not an option, you can also find a source of artificial light, falling directly on your face, from the front.
Conclusion
Delivering online presentations is not that difficult or different from delivering any other kind of presentation. With that said, a little bit of preparation can go a long way in making your presentation a success.
What tactics do you employ to ensure the success of your online presentations? Tell us in the comment section below.
Baburajan Kizhakedath
